The BBC's Newsnight programme has been accused of editing a Donald Trump speech in a way that made it appear he called for violent protest ahead of the US Capitol riots. The allegation follows a similar controversy involving the BBC's Panorama programme last year.
The Telegraph reported that a 2022 edition of Newsnight spliced together two sections of Trump's speech from January 6, 2021. The edit combined his urging of supporters to walk to the Capitol with a later segment where he said 'fight like hell', without alerting viewers to the cut.
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney criticised the BBC on air at the time, stating: 'Your video actually spliced together the presentation. That line about “and we fight and fight like hell” is actually later in the speech.'
A BBC spokesperson said: 'The BBC holds itself to the highest editorial standards. This matter has been brought to our attention and we are now looking into it.'
The Panorama edit, broadcast a week before the US election, similarly suggested Trump told the crowd: 'We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.' The words were taken from sections almost an hour apart. BBC chair Samir Shah apologised, saying the edit gave the impression 'of a direct call for violent action'.
Trump has threatened a billion-dollar lawsuit, and the BBC is considering how to respond. The corporation is already dealing with the resignations of director general Tim Davie and head of BBC News Deborah Turness over the Panorama incident.
